Bear Gets On Fishing Boat, Dozes Off Before Falling Into Sea In Japan’s Miyagi

MIYAGI (Japan), Sept 20 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- A bear climbed aboard a moored tuna fishing boat via its gangway and appeared to have dozed off before falling overboard and disappearing into the sea in the northern Japanese city of Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, local police said Sunday, Kyodo News Agency reported.

Three crew members who were on the boat took refuge in a locked room and were unharmed.

According to the police, a bear approximately one metre tall boarded the boat at the fishing port around 8.30 pm.

It appeared to have fallen asleep on the bow and has not been seen since falling into the sea after 1 am, the police quoted the crew as saying. There had been reports of bear sightings in the area since Friday, the police said.

Elsewhere in Miyagi's Iwanuma, a train struck a bear late on Saturday, causing a temporary service suspension and delaying around 30 passengers on the Joban Line, JR East said. None of the crew or passengers were injured.

The bear became trapped under the train and it took nearly two hours for service to resume as workers removed the animal's dead body from under the cars, it said. Two trains in each direction were delayed, affecting about 490 passengers.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO